


Le Beau et la Bête

by t_dragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Disfigurement, M/M, Minor Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-14 22:57:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13017933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: By his own stupidity, Park Chanyeol ends up almost dying in the forest during a winter storm, but the mysterious lord of the Byun mansion takes him in and saves his life. There are many rumors about the beastly lord, though - are any of them actually true?





	Le Beau et la Bête

 The winters in the North were harsh and unforgiving, and Park Chanyeol knew this.

 Yet, he found himself braving the snow and wind one day to get to the next village over. He was supposed to deliver some medicine for a colicy baby, and Park Chanyeol never went back on his words. Especially not when it was a young child involved.

 ...But maybe he should have made an exception to this rule, just this once. Because caught in the storm, Chanyeol quite quickly understood that he was lost, and hopelessly so. Everything looked the same in the blizzard, making Chanyeol unable to find his way towards the village he was supposed to visit, and back to his own village.

 But that was not the dangerous part. No, the cold was the real danger, because you could wait out the storm, but you could not wait out the cold. And with each passing minute, Chanyeol felt himself go colder and colder, until he knew he was not far from both frostbite and death.

 A howl sounded through the forest, and Chanyeol froze, not believing his incredibly bad luck. Barking suddenly erupted close by, and Chanyeol’s veins filled with adrenaline as he set off, sprinting between trees and trying to avoid roots and branches with the snow whipping in his face.

 But he was not fast enough, not fast enough to escape a pack of wolves. They quickly caught up to him, surrounding him, growling and barking as he tried to look for a way to get away. Realizing it was a lost cause, Chanyeol pulled out the dagger he always carried with him, but rarely used. He was not a hunter, he was not used to killing beings, even if they were threatening him.

 The first wolf attacked, and not having anticipated it, surprise made Chanyeol too slow to fully dodge it. Sharp teeth tore through his arm, making him yell out in pain. Blindly striking out, Chanyeol felt the tip of his dagger slice through something, and a high-pitched yelp let him know he had hit his target. But he knew it was enough, and there was still three more wolves circling around him.

 Managing to get his back up against a tree, Chanyeol reacted much quicker to the next attack, instead plunging his dagger into a hind leg. The wolf howled in pain, collapsing, but as it did, another wolf attacked, managing to clamp its jaws around Chanyeol’s thigh. Screaming, Chanyeol struck down, hitting the wolf in the neck, and its lifeless body slipped to the ground, its jaws losing their grip.

 Sweating and gasping from pain and exhaustion, Chanyeol knew that this was bad. Even if he had managed to kill one and injure two, he himself was badly injured as well.

 Something seemed to make the wolves more hesitant, making wider circles around him now, before one barked, and they began to pull back. Looking to the side, Chanyeol could see the wolf with the injured hind leg slowly limp away, and it made his heart ache out of guilt, but it had been an act of survival.

 But in the end, would it not have been better for him to just give in and become wolf food? After all, he would most likely die, either from the cold or from his injuries. It would have been better if he had given himself to the wolves, letting them live in his stead, as they had a much higher chance of surviving.

 When the wolves had disappeared, Chanyeol looked down at the corpse lying next to him, glossy eyes unseeing, the snow stained a deep red around it. Unable to keep it together, Chanyeol puked his guts out. It was his first real kill - he bought all of his meat from the butcher, and had never even killed a rat before!

 Unable to stay next to the dead wolf, Chanyeol stumbled away, dizzy from the loss of blood and the adrenaline draining out of him. He would not last long now.

_ Is this it? _ , he thought to himself as he tried to find some shelter beneath a large fir.  _ Is this how I will die? _

 Sitting down beneath the large branches, Chanyeol wrapped his arms around himself, trembling and desperately trying to regain some warmth. He could not even find the strength to bind his wounds, wounds that were still bleeding, because of the cold sipping deep down into his bones. His mind began to slip, down into the welcoming and warm darkness. And it just seemed so… Inviting…

 

 “Is he still alive? He looks dead…”

 “He… He has a pulse. Quickly, get him inside! We need to warm him up, he is barely clinging to life!”

 Chanyeol was pretty sure he was dead, but there were some voices around him that seemed too annoying to belong to the afterlife. He felt as if he was floating, and as if his entire body was numb, but he did not mind that too much. He was rather thankful for the painful coldness having disappeared along with the stinging wounds, actually, even if it meant that he had perished in the storm.

 “What is the meaning of this?” Another voice joined the first two, but this one was different. It was husky and  _ warm _ , even if the tone of it was cold. Chanyeol liked this voice.

 “We found him outside, one foot in the grave, but he can still be saved, my lord!”

 Silence, then a sigh Chanyeol had to strain to hear.

 “Take him to the west wing. He is only allowed to stay until he has recovered, and not a second longer. You know the rules.”

 “Yes, my lord,” the two first voices echoed, before Chanyeol was floating back down into total darkness.

 

 Chanyeol knew he was dead now.

 He was floating in a bubble of warmth and softness, and there was no other place than paradise that that could be. Yes, he had died in the storm, either from the cold or his wounds - or both - and now he had entered heaven, where all of his ailments and sufferings had disappeared.

 “Oh, I think he’s waking up!”

 Wait. What?

 It was as if someone dropped his soul straight back into hell - heavy limbs, aching body and hurting wounds welcomed Chanyeol back to life, and he wished he could have stayed in the soft warmth he had floated in before.

 Groaning, Chanyeol tried to blink his eyes open, to see where he was. But it took a great deal of effort, as it seemed as if his eyelids were stuck together with something sticky.

 The first thing Chanyeol saw when he finally managed to get his eyes open were different muted, dark colors all blurred together. After a few seconds, they began to unblur, and Chanyeol found himself looking into a pair of large, dark eyes. The face around them began to clear, giving Chanyeol a view of a cute nose and plump lips set in a charmingly round face.

 “A-angel…?” Chanyeol managed to rasp out, his throat feeling as if it was full of sand, and the face above him pulled back a little, pink blooming across the cheeks.  _ Cute _ .

 “Did he just call you an angel?”

 “Stop being jealous, Jongin,” the floating face said, and Chanyeol started to realize that it was not a floating face, but a person standing next to him.

 “But you’re blushing!”

 “I got a compliment, of course I’m blushing!”

 “You never blush when I compliment you!”

 The arguing was firing on the headache Chanyeol was already feeling, and he tried to hold a hand up.

 “E-excuse m-me?” Chanyeol said. “W-where…?”

 The boy with the large eyes looked down at Chanyeol again, smiling apologetically, and Chanyeol realized that his lips formed a heart when he smiled.  _ Really cute _ .

 “Forgive us, Jongin has no manners… My name is Kyungsoo, and you’re in the Byun mansion,” the cute boy said.

 Somewhere in the back of Chanyeol’s mind, a bell began to ring, but he could not quite understand why. He recognized the name of the mansion… From where?

 “You were found out the in the storm with injuries, and brought here,” the other voice said, and turning his head slightly, Chanyeol looked up to find another boy - this one with sharper features, but plump lips as well. “The lord allowed you to stay until you’ve recovered enough to get back home.”

 “Lord?” Chanyeol asked, really wanting a sip of water or something.

 “Lord Byun, master of this mansion,” Kyungsoo said, glancing up at the other boy. “Our employer. You haven’t heard of the name?”

 “Don’t know,” Chanyeol said, frowning as he tried to remember. The headache had increased tenfold by now, and he closed his eyes in defeat as he knew he would not be able to remember right now.

 “It’s alright, don’t exhaust yourself,” Kyungsoo said, and Chanyeol opened his eyes to see him smile down at him. “You were close to death, you need to rest and regain your strength. Worry about such things later.”

 Chanyeol gave a small nod at this, agreeing with Kyungsoo’s words. He felt weak in a strange way, and he wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.

 “Thank you,” Chanyeol mumbled, closing his eyes yet again, and letting exhaustion take over.

 

 “How is he?”

 “He’s woken up, my lord, but he’s still very weak. He’ll live, though.”

 “Good. Too many people have died in this house…”

 

 As the days went past, Chanyeol began to recuperate. He went from being able to stay awake for only a few minutes, to long enough to eat and chat some with whoever was in charge of taking care of him that day.

 Most of the time it was Kyungsoo, and most of those times, Jongin were also somewhere in the room, apparently still jealous over Chanyeol’s delirious mumblings from the first time he woke up.

 But other times it was Minseok, one of the men that had found Chanyeol, that was in the room when Chanyeol woke up. And even though Chanyeol had found the older’s voice annoying at first, he was Chanyeol’s favorite caretaker.

 Because Minseok told Chanyeol stories of the mansion he had been brought to after having collapsed near the estate. Stories about what had happened in the mansion, and of the inhabitants.

 “Minseok, where exactly am I?” Chanyeol had asked one day, as Minseok had helped him eat some soup. “I remember hearing about the Byun mansion, but I can’t place it?”

 Minseok had stilled for a moment, looking down into the bowl he was holding, before slowly looking up at Chanyeol again.

 “It’s… Not that surprising, actually…,” Minseok began, carefully stirring the soup as he talked. “This mansion have been hidden for a long time now, and memories quickly vanish. Or twist into something horrible, something not even close to the truth. How old are you, Chanyeol?”

 “Twenty-five,” Chanyeol answered, feeling very intrigued by it all.

 “So young, same age as the master of this house,” Minseok said, smiling a bit, before it dropped. “Fifteen years ago, something terrible happened here. A horrible accident, of which both the house and the master still bears scars. You might remember hearing something about it, but since you were so young back then, it’s doubtful that you know all of it. And the master made sure to try to get everyone to forget about him, about us, about this mansion.”

 “But why? What happened?” Chanyeol asked, voice barely above a whisper as he sat on pins and needles to learn what had happened. Something was tickling at the back of his mind, but still too far away for him to grasp

 “There was a fire, a fire that took out the east wing, and killed the master’s family,” Minseok said in a low voice, and Chanyeol had to lean closer to hear. “He was blamed for it, they said  _ he _ started the fire, and so he went into hiding. Fired most of the staff, only the most faithful stayed, and we barely ever leave the estate. We have everything we need here anyway. And what people don’t see, they don’t remember, so now most have forgotten about it all.”

 Ah, yes, that was it… Now Chanyeol remembered.

 The Byun mansion that burned, killing three people, leaving only a child behind. Chanyeol had been young back then, only ten, but he had heard about it. About how they had suspected that the young son had done it all, but did not know how to judge him. Was it right to execute a child, even if that child might have murdered his own family? And the accounts for that night had been so diverse that all of it was a big, great mess - a mess people decided was better left alone. Especially after the young master had made his stance clear; that he would keep to himself, and not bother anyone. It was easier that way, leave him to his own device and let him be, instead of trying to decide if he should lose a hand or his life for what he might have done.

 No one had believed he would survive for too long, and death seemed even more plausible after most of the staff had left. Only a few had remained, a few children around the Byun son’s age, a few older, but they were all so young. Would they be able to take care of themselves properly in the harsh Northern climate?

 It seemed as if they had, as if they had survived after all, against all odds.

 “They never knew if he was guilty or not, right?” Chanyeol slowly asked as his mind began to catch up to everything. “The stories of that night did not match, so no one knew if he did or not?”

 “The master is innocent,” Minseok said, rather briskly. Shocked, Chanyeol looked up at the other man, and saw a clenched jaw, determination burning in those cat-like eyes. “He did not start the fire, and he did not kill his family. Even after everything they did to him, he would never have done anything like that… He was such a sweet and pure soul, he did not deserve this…”

 Chanyeol held up his hands in a sign of peace, pulling back a little.

 “I didn’t try to claim that he is guilty, I just remembered that nobody knew,” Chanyeol explained, and Minseok seemed to relax a little bit. “And what did his family do to him?”

 At that, Minseok sat silent for a little while, looking down into the luke-warm soup he was still holding and stirring. Then he looked up at Chanyeol with a small smile, getting up from the chair.

 “You ate quite a lot today, sir, that’s very good! You seem to regain your health quickly. I’m glad. Hopefully you’ll be able to go home to your family soon, but you should rest for now. Somebody will come and check on you in a few hours, bye for now!”

 Just like that, before Chanyeol even had the chance to get a word in, Minseok was out the door and disappeared. Feeling a bit stumped, Chanyeol slowly fell back against the pillows, wondering what horrifics that had gone down in this house, that Minseok did not want to speak of.

 And Chanyeol wondered what had happened to the young lord Byun, who had lost his entire family, and half of his mansion, in a fire. He seemed to thrive in his self-chosen isolation, still alive, but Chanyeol wondered why he had yet to meet him. He had only heard his voice a few times, but Chanyeol was not sure if that was actually lord Byun, or just his imagination running amok when he was out cold.

 Wondering and thinking, Chanyeol wanted to meet lord Byun. If nothing else, just to be able to thank him for letting Chanyeol stay until he was well enough to travel home. That was something remarkable, after all, for a boy that had been branded a murderer by strangers just because he had survived a fire that had taken his family.

 

 For the next couple of weeks, Kyungsoo was the one in charge of making sure Chanyeol recovered properly. Minseok seemed to have disappeared, and Chanyeol suspected this was because Minseok suspected that Chanyeol had more questions he wanted answered.

 Unfortunately for Chanyeol, Kyungsoo was much more close-lipped about what had gone down. He did shed some light on things, though, after understanding that Chanyeol knew what had gone down.

 “So you were one of the children staying?” Chanyeol asked one time, now strong enough to eat on his own.

 “No. I was a friend, and I escaped here a few years after… Everything,” Kyungsoo answered, looking at the fire burning in the hearth, instead of at Chanyeol. “I knew he was innocent, and I didn’t want him to be alone.”

 “I see… What about you?” Chanyeol asked, turning to Jongin.

 The other man had stood leaned against the wall, more or less as far away from Chanyeol as he could get whilst still keeping an eye on Kyungsoo. Chanyeol was still a bit confused about their relationship, but did not feel the necessity to figure it out or ask about it.

 When Chanyeol directed a question his way, Jongin jerked upright, surprise widening his eyes before he got control over himself and cleared his throat.

 “My family died when I was young, I lived on the streets, got lost in the woods and were found by the lord who took me in after learning of my situation,” Jongin muttered, looking down at his feet.

 “Really? That’s interesting,” Chanyeol mumbled to himself, trying to puzzle the pieces together. This mystery was getting so much more intriguing.

 “Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said, bringing the attention back to him. “The master of this house is not a bad person. He went through things in his childhood that no one should ever have to go through, but they did not make him into a monster. Rather the opposite, his ill fortune is probably the reason for why he is such a good person. It might seem like we are living in darkness, cut off from the rest of the world, but we are all here by choice. We have the freedom to leave whenever we want, but we choose not to. Because even after everything, he still holds a light, and we want to protect that.”

 Chanyeol smiled softly and put his spoon down, so that he could pat Kyungsoo’s hands that were clenched into fists on top of the bed, ignoring Jongin’s gasp behind him.

 “Don’t worry, I’m not trying to demonize the lord or something,” Chanyeol said. “I’m simply trying to understand what happened here. It’s quite obvious to me that he is a good person, considering he let me inside instead of leaving me to die in the storm, even after having faced such horrible accusations from strangers. He took a risk letting me in, and I’m very grateful for that. And it shows that he doesn’t lack compassion.”

 Kyungsoo gave a tight-lipped smile, and Chanyeol saw hope in his eyes. Hope that what Chanyeol was saying was true, that Chanyeol had no ill intentions. And Chanyeol intended to show him that that was the truth. He was just a bit curious about it all.

 “I wish I could meet him one day,” Chanyeol mumbled as he got back to eating. “To thank him for everything he’s doing for me…”

 “What?” Kyungsoo asked, eyes going wide in shock, making him look like a scared deer. “You want to- what?”

 “Meet him and thank him,” Chanyeol repeated, giving a shrug. “Like I said, he let me in instead of let me die, and he hasn’t kicked me out yet, even though I might be strong enough to travel home. And for giving me food.”

 “The storm is still raging outside,” Kyungsoo answered a bit weakly, and Chanyeol wondered why he was so shocked. “You can’t leave yet, and of course he wouldn’t send you away before he knew that you were strong enough to handle it… I’ll… I’ll pass your request along, but don’t get your hopes up…”

 After that, Chanyeol resumed his eating in silence, thinking about everything he had learned today. It was nice being given even more proof of lord Byun’s kindness, even though Chanyeol had already been pretty sure of its existence.

 Now, though, he wanted to find out why the young lord had yet to show himself to him. Distrust of strangers, or something else…?

 

 Even as Chanyeol grew in strength, the storm did not wane. There were moments, in the nights, when it was calm enough to show the moon and stars, but those moment only lasted a couple of hours. The cold was still biting, and it was decided that Chanyeol would have to wait until the storm settled down enough to keep calm for at least a day.

 It was not that unusual that the winter storms lasted a long time, but this one was one of the worst for quite a few years. Maybe it was a sign, Chanyeol thought to himself, that he was meant to stay here, and find out more about the owner of the mansion. He wanted to, and the storm was the perfect excuse for it.

 Finally, Chanyeol was able to get out of the bed for longer periods, and allowed to follow Kyungsoo or Minseok around the house. He began to help with the cleaning and cooking, feeling like he wanted to do something with himself, and at the same time show appreciation. A repayment of gratitude.

 At one time, Minseok showed Chanyeol the large room containing whatever pieces of art that had been able to be saved over the years. Some were a bit burned, some were a bit stained, many were dusty, but most were in a reasonable condition.

 Except for a few, in the back. They seemed to have been violently slashed, frames bashed to pieces, as if a really angry beast had gone through here.

 “Oh. Sometimes the lord takes out his anger on the paintings,” Minseok had casually commented when he saw Chanyeol stare. “Mostly on those picturing his family.”

 Chanyeol had started to suspect that Minseok would bring him to places where the mansion’s history was obvious, just to be able to ‘naturally’ answer whatever questions Chanyeol would have. Why he was doing this, Chanyeol had no idea. But he did not complain.

 Kneeling down next to a painting that seemed a bit less destroyed than the others, Chanyeol carefully reached out and lifted pieces of the canvas back up into their original place, recreating parts of the painting. It was a family portrait, but all Chanyeol could see were two young boys. The rest was too destroyed to make out.

 “That is the young master with his older brother, lord Baekbeom,” Minseok said in a low voice. “A year or so before… The fire. Their parents are also in the picture, but… Well, you see.”

 “So that is the man now owner of this mansion?” Chanyeol asked, pointing towards the younger of the two brothers.

 He looked adorable, but all too serious for his age. Dark hair, cute chubby cheeks, and triangular lips, with a pair of dark, droopy eyes and a button nose to complete the face.

 “Yes,” Minseok said, sighing a bit as he squatted down next to Chanyeol. “Byun Baekhyun, the only surviving member of the Byun family, now lord of the mansion. A lot has changed in sixteen years, though…”

 “Of course, he was only a child back then,” Chanyeol said, chuckling a little bit, but glancing over at Minseok, it felt as if he was missing something.

 “Indeed,” Minseok said, unsmiling, as he got up again. “Come on, we have stuff to do.”

 

 According to Kyungsoo, it was not that strange that Chanyeol never met lord Byun. He liked to keep to himself, Kyungsoo said, but Chanyeol felt like he was part of the reason for why the young lord hid away.

 After all, it could not be easy to have a stranger invade your home, when strangers had been so horrible to you in the past.

 But every now and then, Chanyeol would feel as if he was being watched. Whenever he turned around, though, there would be no one there. Or he would see the end of cloak, disappearing around a corner, but no one in the hallway as Chanyeol ran after.

 And only once, Chanyeol had gotten a glimpse of an eye, an eye that held sorrow and apprehension, and  _ fear _ . But then Chanyeol had blinked, and the next time he opened his eyes, the person was gone. Like a spirit, disappearing into thin air.

 Not long after Chanyeol had begun to get familiar with the mansion layout, he began to walk the halls at night. He was having troubles sleeping anyway, too many things on his mind keeping him awake.

 He stayed away from the east wing - the wing damaged from the fire. Some parts of it was still usable, but Chanyeol felt shivers run down his spine every time he got near it. Maybe it was the obvious overtones of sorrow and death hanging around the area, Chanyeol did not know, but he steered clear anyway.

 It was during one of these midnight walks that Chanyeol found himself entering the room containing all the paintings that had been rescued. The wind was blowing a bit softer tonight, and the moon made its appearance every now and then, peeking between the clouds. The large room held a certain atmosphere, and Chanyeol found himself slowing down, walking carefully between the art pieces, not wanting to disturb them. He almost chuckled at the thought of not wanting to disturb inanimate objects, but that was before he saw  _ him _ .

 Standing by one of the windows, back towards Chanyeol, but Chanyeol still knew who this was. This was lord Byun, master of the mansion, the elusive ghost that Chanyeol had been trying to catch a glimpse of for so long.

 Chanyeol barely dared to breath as he snuck closer, trying not to make a sound that would scare the young man away again. This was his first real chance to talk to the lord, and he wanted to take it so bad!

 “Excuse me, my lord,” Chanyeol whispered when he was just about two meters away, low enough to not scare, but loud enough to be heard. Yet, despite his attempts, the lord still jerked in surprise, spinning around with a hand pressed against his chest, face hidden beneath his cloak.

 “Wh-what? What are you doing here in the middle of the night? You should rest!” the lord snapped, voice tense with shock, but still husky and warm though the tone was cold.

 “I’m sorry, but I could not sleep,” Chanyeol said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I didn’t mean to scare you, I simply wanted to thank you, but I didn’t want you to run away…”

 Lord Byun took a step back and pulled the hood down a little bit more, and Chanyeol wondered what he was trying to hide. The moons was behind the clouds for now, and even so, the lord had his back towards the window, leaving Chanyeol no way of seeing him.

 “I do not need your thanks,” the lord said, seemingly through clenched teeth. “Rest, get well, and leave - that is all I need from you.”

 “But you took me in, even though I was close to death, and let me stay here and recover. Of course I need to thank you!” Chanyeol exclaimed, giving a disbelieving chuckle.

 “No, you do not, now please, leave me alone,” lord Byun argued, stressing his words out, but Chanyeol was nothing if not persistent.

 “Lord Byun, I know what happened to you, and I understand that after what you’ve been through, it must be hard to let a stranger into your house-”

 But Chanyeol did not get a chance to finish, as the lord took two steps closer, crowding Chanyeol.

 “You have  _ no idea _ what I have been through! And I do not need the compassion of strangers, I do just fine without it!” the lord hissed, and since he was so close now, Chanyeol could see an outline of nose and lips and jaw, and shiny orbs filled with hate.

 “I’m not here to offer compassion, I merely wanted to thank you for doing something I myself would find hard had I been in your position,” Chanyeol slowly said, choosing his words a bit more carefully as to not upset the lord any more than he already had. “Though I feel horrible that you had to deal with so much at such a young age, just the fact that you’re standing here before me, strong and healthy, means that you’ve been more than capable of taking care of yourself.”

 “Strong? Healthy?” lord Byun snorted, and Chanyeol could swear the lord was smirking, though he could not see his lips. “I am alive, I am able to walk around, I am able to do some things, yes, but I am neither strong nor healthy. I survived the fire, but it did not leave me unaffected.”

 And with that, the young lord pulled his hood back, revealing his face, and as if on cue for dramatic effect, the clouds pulled back from the moon and let the silverlight pour into the room.

 Gasping, Chanyeol stumbled back, heel hitting one of the heavy frames that were all around them.

 “Yes, there we go, recoil from the monster!” lord Byun sneered. “Are you still thankful, sir? Or do you now wish you could escape? Do as you please, I will not hold you captive here, despite whatever stupid tales they tell of me in your village. Leave, be gone, never come back, and let us be!”

 One side of lord Byun’s face was scarred from burns, continuing down his neck, disappearing beneath his clothes. Some scars wrapped around his hand as well, leaving Chanyeol to wonder if the entire side of his body was covered in more burn scars. Yes, the young lord had survived the fire, but not without making some sacrifices.

 The other side of the lord’s face, that had been left untouched, was beautiful. It still bore the same kind of features as the child in the painting from sixteen years ago, but now they were matured, showing the face of a handsome young man. Or, what could have been a handsome young man, had he not been disfigured.

 The contrast between the two sides was drastic, and Chanyeol did not know where to look.

 “I-I… I didn’t know,” Chanyeol managed to stammer out, voice barely above a whisper. “But you’re not a monster.”

 Lord Byun’s eyebrows just momentarily formed a confused frown, before he went back to glaring at Chanyeol.

 “You’re scared of me,” the lord said, and it was a statement, not a question.

 Chanyeol worried his lower lip as he spent a few seconds thinking through his answer properly.

 “Not scared. Shocked,” Chanyeol said in the end. “I was surprised. And a little scared by the suddenness of it. But not scared of you. Scars from a fire does not make you a monster. Neither does your obvious kindness.”

 And Chanyeol tried an easy smile, to ease the tension. But instead he saw something dark flicker past in the lord’s eyes, jaw clenching, before he once more pulled the hood up and stormed off, right past Chanyeol and leaving him alone in the large, dark room.

 Chanyeol did not know how long he stood there, staring out the window at the dark forest sometimes just barely illuminated by the moon. It might have been five minutes, it might have been an hour - all he knew is that for a long time, he could not move. Then he managed to take a deep breath, letting out in a sigh, and everything released. Shoulders slumping and head falling forwards, Chanyeol held up his trembling hands, looking at them with distaste.

 Because he was not scared by the lord’s appearance. As shocking as it had been at first, he was not  _ scared _ . He was confused, and he was a bit frightened by the lord’s temper, but why was that enough to make him shake like a leaf in the autumn wind? Was it relief of finally having met his benefactor and being able to thank him in person? Was it leftover shock from the dramatic reveal? Was it a combination of it all? Chanyeol had no idea, but a headache had started to form between his temples, and so he decided that for now, it was best to retreat to his room. Try to get a good night’s sleep, and think more about it in the morning.

 But Chanyeol did not see the young lord hiding, watching the entire scene. He did not see the lord’s face twist in disappointment from what he believed was a lie on Chanyeol’s part. Because what lord Byun saw was Chanyeol shaking and trying to calm himself after their meeting, as if he had been scared. And the poor lord, already greatly mistrusting of strangers, found yet another reason to stay away until Chanyeol was well enough to leave.

 

 The next morning, Chanyeol found himself in the kitchen as Kyungsoo was making breakfast.

 “I met lord Byun last night,” Chanyeol casually said, jumping as a loud crash was heard.

 Turning around he found Kyungsoo standing frozen, several plates lying by his feet, some broken. Chanyeol quickly got up and hurried over, to make sure Kyungsoo had not injured himself, and help with picking the pieces up.

 But as soon as Chanyeol got close enough, Kyungsoo reached out and slapped his shoulder.

 “I told you to not bother him!” Kyungsoo hissed, slapping Chanyeol once more. “He is a very shy man, no wonder I haven’t seen him all day!”

 Pulling back and rubbing his aching shoulder, Chanyeol gave a pout.

 “It wasn’t my fault! I could not sleep, so I wandered around, into the room with all the paintings, and accidentally found him! And I just wanted to give him my thanks!” Chanyeol complained.

 Kyungsoo pursed his lips, before sighing and kneeling to start to pick up the pieces. Standing back for a few seconds, Chanyeol then hesitantly joined him, and after he realized that Kyungsoo did not seem inclined to hit him again, Chanyeol began to help in earnest.

 “Did you cut yourself when you dropped them?” Chanyeol asked when they had picked up almost all of the shards.

 “No. I’m fine,” Kyungsoo said, answer curt, and Chanyeol wondered if he had really done something that horrible.

 They finished up in silence, before they sat down to have breakfast.

 “Did you…,” Kyungsoo began, before shutting his mouth abruptly. Chanyeol looked up to see Kyungsoo seemingly fight with himself about what to say.

 “See his face?” Chanyeol asked, figuring that was probably what Kyungsoo meant, earning himself a small nod. “Yes. He survived the fire, but not without injury. Such a shame on such a pretty face… It has contributed to his image as a monster, right?”

 Kyungsoo pursed his lips, exhaling deeply through his nose and nodding.

 “Yes, it has. Unnatural exterior means unnatural personality, at least to some,” Kyungsoo mumbled, pressing his fork to his lips and observing Chanyeol. “You really are a strange one, Chanyeol. Not like the others.”

 Cold crept up Chanyeol’s spine and he stilled, a frown appearing on his face.

 “The others?” Chanyeol asked, trepidation gripping him.

 “You are not the first we have saved over the years, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said, smiling a bit. But it was not a happy smile. “You know the lord took Jongin in, but there has been others as well. People who wandered through the forest and become lost, or become injured, and so on. Most of them never met the lord whilst staying here, but those who did… None of them were as accepting as you.”

 And Chanyeol was not surprised. He knew that he himself was rather accepting compared to many others, and had a tendency to see the goodness where others did not. But that did not mean that he found others’ reactions logical, or right. Who dictated that a scarred man had to be a moralically bad man? If anything, because of all the hardship the man had to face, he would be much more propitious. And maybe, in the end, all of these hardships and the public’s disgust push the man to turn into monster everyone thought him to be. Chanyeol saw this as highly unnecessary. Why not just be nice to everyone else, as this might help the world become a better place?

 Kyungsoo was sitting and stabbing at his food, a bitter smile on his face.

 “One would think that after being rescued and showed mercy, people would understand that he is not the monster they see him as, but of course, people always have to assume the worst, and twist good things to bad,” Kyungsoo muttered, before sighing and leaning back in his chair. “They even say that he uses magic to cast a spell over the forest to make people become lost, so that he can lure them in and  _ eat _ them.”

 Even with the seriousness of the discussion, Chanyeol could not help but burst out laughing. He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth to try to quell the laughter, though his shoulders still shook with it.

 “I know, it is ridiculous,” Kyungsoo said, a small smile curving his lips. “But I am genuinely glad that you find this as ridiculous as I do. Do you understand why I was so hesitant to you meeting the lord before?”

 Chanyeol’s laughter died down as he nodded, sobering up slightly.

 “Yes, I understand. I would probably do the same. You do not know me, and to keep me away is the more safe option,” Chanyeol said, offering Kyungsoo a soft smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

 Kyungsoo replicated the smile, and they continued their breakfast with some lighter talk.

 

 After their impromptu meeting, Chanyeol had hoped to see lord Byun again, but it seemed as if the lord was hiding even better now. Chanyeol did not even get a glimpse, even though he kept wandering around at night. He thought about trying to find his way through the ruined parts of the mansion, but it still scared him off, and so he kept away.

 A few days went past before Chanyeol finally hit a lucky break. During the day, nonetheless.

 Chanyeol had been sent on a mission by Minseok to fetch some firewood. Since Chanyeol was much more healthier now, and quite tall and muscular, they had started to use him to help with the heavier stuff. Which meant that Chanyeol was forced to get dressed and go outside, to the little cabin housing the wood.

 As he was walking, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, and turning, he realized that he was not the only one outside the mansion.

 Lord Byun was out as well, and it appeared as if he was feeding the hens. Wrapped in a thick coat, his undamaged side was facing Chanyeol as he smiled softly over the flapping and cooing birds.

 And he looked so dashing that Chanyeol forgot to breathe for a few seconds.

 Wanting to get closer, Chanyeol began to sneak towards the unsuspecting lord - but he forgot the fact that snow did not silence as much as amplify sounds. Placing his foot down into it, Chanyeol froze as the snow crunched, looking up and hoping he had not been heard.

 But of course he had been. Lord Byun’s head snapped up in Chanyeol’s direction, frown on his face that only deepened as he saw Chanyeol. Dropping the bag of feed in the snow, the lord turned and strode away, and Chanyeol had the distinct feeling of having done something wrong.

 “Wait!” Chanyeol called out before thinking, rushing after the lord. “Lord Byun, please, wait!”

 But the master of the mansion did not wait; instead he sped up. Unfortunately for him, Chanyeol had very long legs, and moved quicker. It did not take long before Chanyeol had caught up and pulled the lord to a stop.

 “Lord Byun,” Chanyeol huffed, breathing a bit strained. “Have I done something wrong? You seem even more insistent on avoiding me now, though I believed that you might have started to warm up a bit to me.”

 “I know you are scared of me,” the lord whispered, facing away from Chanyeol, and there was this distinct note in his voice that Chanyeol could not really place. “So I am making it easier for you during your stay, by staying away.”

 “What are you talking about?” Chanyeol asked, truly confused. “Scared of you? I thought we’ve been over this already. I was shocked to see your face, yes, but never scared. I understand you having a hard time trusting people, Kyungsoo told me of the others, but believe me when I say that I’m not scared of you.”

 “I saw you, trembling like a leaf, after our last meeting,” the lord said, voice slightly more powerful now, as if he was getting angrier. “You were afraid-”

 “No, no, relief! It was relief and shock combined to make me a trembling mess!” Chanyeol exclaimed as he understood what the lord was talking about. “It was such a dramatic meeting, and I had heard so much about you, that when you left and my adrenaline drained, I was left shaking. I promise you, it had nothing to do with fear. Would I otherwise chase after you, and hold you back like this?”

 Chanyeol could see and almost feel the lord stiffen as he realized that Chanyeol’s words made sense, and it made Chanyeol smile. It was a truly adorable action, actually.

 “What are you doing out here?” the lord asked after a while, shocking Chanyeol back to reality. “Should you be out? You were closer to death than life when you were brought here.”

 “Ah, yes, I was getting wood! Minseok sent me to fetch firewood!” Chanyeol said, dropping lord Byun’s arm as he slapped his forehead, remembering.

 “Are they sending you to do their job?” the lord asked, frowning slightly when he turned around to look up at Chanyeol.

 In the daylight, the scars from the burns did not look as dramatic, and Chanyeol once more found himself smiling at the other. He really was beautiful, even with his damaged skin.

 “I’m helping, since you helped me. I want to give back.”

 Lord Byun’s jaw tensed at the words.

 “You’re the first to do so…,” he mumbled, almost too low for Chanyeol to hear, before he raised his voice. “But you should not. You should rest and heal. I will talk with them.”

 Lord Byun turned to walk away again, but Chanyeol once more reached out to catch him.

 “No need. I’m doing this out of my own free will,” Chanyeol said firmly. “If I have to lie in bed for another day, I will probably go insane. I’m used to doing things, so let me do things!”

 Lord Byun’s frown deepened as his lips pursed, but he slowly nodded.

 “It is not really my problem if you die or not… I can just throw your corpse to the wolves who already tried their luck. I am sure they want revenge for the killing of their kind,” the lord said, voice airy, and Chanyeol sputtered a bit over the harsh words.

 “You wouldn’t even bury me?” Chanyeol exclaimed, before noticing the little spark in the lord’s eyes. “Oh… You are joking. You are joking, right?”

 But the lord merely shrugged, before slipping out of Chanyeol’s grip and striding away once more. Chanyeol called out after him, but let him go. Enough for one day. It was progress, good progress, and this time Chanyeol hoped he would see lord Byun more.

 

 Slowly, but surely, Chanyeol began to see the young master of the house more and more. Sometimes they would run into each other whilst out on their midnight walks, quietly walking alongside each other for a while before they went their separate ways. Sometimes Chanyeol would run into lord Byun whilst out on the errands the other’s would send him on, and one time it ended with the lord scolding Minseok. After all, Chanyeol was ‘still recovering, and not in the shape to help out’.

 Even though Chanyeol kind of did not agree with that statement, since he was feeling much better, it was still fun to see Minseok nod and apologize, whilst scowling in Chanyeol’s direction.

 And the more lord Byun came out of hiding, the more Chanyeol got to see him interact with the others. It was quite the endearing sight, and it was obvious that it was a deep friendship that tied them all together, not just the master-servant relationship.

 Chanyeol also began to see Jongdae, the other man who had helped Minseok save him, a bit more. Jongdae was also quiet hesitant to strangers, apparently because of his own horrible past, but the more he opened up, the more Chanyeol found that the man was a rather loud and energetic person.

 The times Chanyeol liked the most, though, were when he was sitting by the stove in the kitchen, long into the night, quietly chatting with the lord. It had taken some time, but after having met in the kitchen a few times as well and exchanged pleasantries, it was only natural for them to move on to conversations. And even though lord Byun did not mention anything about his past, Chanyeol still began to get to know him in other ways, more tied to gestures and feelings than words.

 Lord Byun used his hands a lot when he talked. He would gesture with them, sometimes wildly, sometimes gently, but always so elegantly. And his eyes would sparkle whenever he talked about something he obviously cared about. Chanyeol found himself staring with a soft smile more times than he wanted to admit, captured by dark eyes containing the entire night sky. Sometimes, Chanyeol wished he could be closer to the lord, just so he could try and see if he could find the different constellations in those orbs.

 

 Chanyeol was feeling a kind of restlessness. Having since long ago given up on sleeping, he had been wandering through the mansion, round and round again, once more ending up in the painting room.

 Standing by one of the large windows and letting the moonlight wash over him, Chanyeol took a deep breath, eyes slipping closed. Why was he feeling so unsettled? He was having a good time, and even though he knew he had to go back home soon, that realization only filled him with sadness, not this… This  _ anxiousness _ .

 Letting the breath out in a long sigh, Chanyeol leaned his head against the window, looking out onto the large forest. It looked so peaceful, yet so foreboding, like it was holding a terrible secret of what was to come-

 Wait.

 Was that… Was that torches?

 Strings of fiery spheres floated amongst the trees, like little will-o’-the-wisps dancing around to lure prey in. The trepidation inside of Chanyeol multiplied as he counted two, four, ten, twenty, too many torches getting closer, his heart getting stuck in his throat.

 “Oh, no… Oh, no, no, no!” Chanyeol muttered as he turned and set off, sprinting through the large room.

 This was bad, this was really bad, and he needed to warn them all… There was only one reason for why there would be torches marching towards the mansion in the middle of the night - and it was not a good reason.

 “Minseok! Jongin!” Chanyeol called out as he raced down the stairs towards the rooms he knew they used. “Kyungsoo! Jongdae!”

 When Chanyeol was almost at the first door, it opened and revealed a sleepy-looking Minseok, frowning in confusion over all the noise Chanyeol was making. Opening his mouth, he was about to say something, but Chanyeol was faster.

 “There’s a mob heading this direction, torches high! We need to get everyone up and to safety!” Chanyeol quickly explained, and Minseok’s eyes widened as comprehension hit him. “Wake everyone up and make sure you get dressed! Where is lord Byun’s bedroom?”

 “Top of the stair, three doors down,” Minseok explained, pointing in the right direction. “We meet in the painting room, okay?”

 Chanyeol gave a quick nod, before setting off again, cursing how his body was working against him. He needed to move faster, quicker, but his breathing was already strained. Some of the wounds he had suffered ached, and he knew this was too much excitement too soon.

 But there was nothing else he could do but keep running, keep pushing himself to make it in time.

 A few minutes later, he had finally made it to the right floor, running down the corridor to get to lord Byun’s room. But when he was by the right door, he came to a stop, hand reaching out towards the knob, yet not touching it. This was the first time he would step into the lord’s own space - even though Chanyeol had spent weeks in the lord’s mansion, it was different from the lord’s bedroom. It was the place where the young master hopefully felt the most secure, where he could be himself completely. And now, Chanyeol was about to invade that space…

 He felt awfully regretful having to do so, but it was for a serious cause.

 Deciding to knock before he barged inside, Chanyeol gave three hard knocks, waited a few seconds, and then turned the knob.

 “Lord Byun?” he called out, peering inside of the darkened room. A single candle was burning on a table, casting shadows dancing over the few pieces of furniture inside, and it was enough for Chanyeol to see an unmoving lump on top of the bed.

 Slowly, Chanyeol moved inside of the room, softly calling out to the lord, but he would not awake. Slowly, Chanyeol’s heart turned more and more worried - maybe the lord was not sleeping, but unconscious? Maybe something had happened, and the lord had suffered a sudden death?

 The thought almost made Chanyeol run the last few meters until he stood by the edge of the bed, and saw ink-black hair covering a pale face. The burn-damaged side of the face, the flickering light making the scars look deeper.

 But Chanyeol was past caring about that now. During the interactions he had had with the young master of the house, he had learned to see the beauty of the man. Because he truly was, inside and out. One part of him might be scarred, but it was only one of many parts - and how much did one part matter in the end?

 Carefully, Chanyeol reached out a hand and placed it on lord Byun’s shoulder, giving it a gentle shake. A small sigh escaped slightly parted lips, echoing through Chanyeol’s heart.

 Rolling over onto his back, the lord blinked his eyes open, confusion and daze running deep in those black orbs. And it only deepened as he noticed Chanyeol, leaning over him.

 “Wh-,” the lord began, licking his lips to chase away the dryness of sleep.

 “Please, we don’t have much time,” Chanyeol whispered, unable to make his voice louder, but still trying to get as much urgency as possible into it. “You need to get up and get dressed, we need to go!”

 “What’s happening?” the lord asked as Chanyeol helped him sit up, running a hand through his hair before muffling a yawn. “I will not move from my warm bed unless you give me a good reason to do so!”

 Taking the lord’s both hands into his own, Chanyeol knelt down in front of him, rubbing small circles into the thin skin on the top of his hands.

 “People are coming, I don’t know who or why, but they are coming, and we need to get out of here.” Chanyeol rushed the words out in a single breath, noticing how lord Byun’s eyes widened in surprise before a frown took over. “I have a really bad feeling about it all, so we need to get everyone to safety!”

 It was as if twin bolts of lightning went through the lord’s eyes, something switching inside of him, as he pulled his hands out of Chanyeol’s grasp and got up.

 “They are here for you, of course,” the lord said, voice sounding neutral, almost bored, while the underlying tone was strained. “Every time, it is the same…”

 “What do you mean?” Chanyeol asked as he got up on his feet, watching the lord pull on his boots, then throwing a cape over himself.

 Lord Byun turned to look at Chanyeol, face devoid of all emotions, eyes empty. It made the insides of Chanyeol churn nastily, and he wished he could see something else in the young master. No matter what it was.

 “You went out one day, but did not arrive at your destination, nor returned home. They have probably searched through the forest - or maybe not - and found no trace of you. And so, they most likely believe that  _ I _ kidnapped you, and have keeping you prisoner in my mansion. They are here for you, to  _ free you _ . From the clutches of the monster.”

 Chanyeol burst out laughing at the absurdity of it, but it quickly died in his throat as lord Byun just watched him impassively. But… It could not be… Right…?

 “That’s preposterous!” Chanyeol then exclaimed, frowning and shaking his head. “You’re not a monster, and you did not kidnap me. You saved me!”

 At this, lord Byun finally showed some emotion on his face. But it was a small, sarcastic smile, that Chanyeol wished he could wipe off.

 “And if you try to tell them that, they will say that I have enchanted you, put you under a spell to make you stay,” the lord said in a slow, low voice, taking one, two, three steps towards Chanyeol, until he could reach out and run his fingers down the taller’s chest, nails scratching the fabric. “Like a  _ witch _ , keeping your here against your will whilst making you believe that you want to stay…”

 Chanyeol took a hold of lord Byun’s wrist, stopping the descending of the fingers and just holding on.

 “Nonsense,” he bit out, staring down at lord Byun, surprisingly feeling rage fill him at those words.

 Who were they to decide for him what he might or might not feel?

 Lord Byun was silent for a few seconds, just looking into Chanyeol’s eyes, before he wrenched his wrist out of Chanyeol’s grip and stepped back, heading towards the door.

 “I know. But they don’t think it is,” the lord said, before stepping outside into the corridor.

 Two seconds went past where Chanyeol just stood, rooted to the floor, and unseeingly stared at the lord’s unmade bed. Then he shook his head and forced his feet to move, to follow the lord, and take him to the painting room.

 When they arrived, the rest were already there, somber looks on faces that should have been relaxed in sleep now. They were looking out through the large window, where Chanyeol had stood just a little while before, frowning down on the marching torches beneath.

 “They are carrying weapons… Mostly just pitchforks, but I have seen a few rusty swords as well,” Minseok mumbled, barely looking up to acknowledge Chanyeol and the lord’s presence. “An ax, a butcher’s knife, but mostly pitchforks and torches.”

 “I am not leaving,” the lord silently said, making Chanyeol by his side sputter.

 “What? What are you talking about? We have to go, Minseok said they have weapons!” Chanyeol exclaimed, looking around to get help from the others, but no one was looking at him.

 They were all too calm for the situation, and if Chanyeol had not known better, he would have thought that this was not the first time they dealt with something like that.

 It was not until much later that he realized that yes, they probably had.

 “I will not allow them to chase me out of my home,” the lord said, jaw set and a fire burning deep in his eyes that made the little stars in them twinkle violently. “I will not let them chase me away. Let them burn it down if they so please, this house has seen worse things…”

 “You cannot be serious!” Chanyeol burst out, dragging both hands through his hair as restlessness and fear made them tremble.

 “You should go, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said, giving him a small smile. “They are here for you, looking for you. Go home, and forget about us. That’s the best thing to do, that might keep them from doing something drastic.”

 Groaning, Chanyeol shook his head, turning on his heel and setting off. Running through corridors and down stairs, through doors, until he was finally outside, a few meters away from the mob. Even from the distance, he could recognize some of the faces lit by the orange light held in their hands, scowls marrying their faces.

 But Chanyeol had not run to go back.

 No, Chanyeol had ran to fight.

 “What do you think you’re doing?!” Chanyeol bellowed, startling some of the many slowly gathering in front of him. “Why have you brought torches and pitchforks to an innocent mansion on the middle of the night?!”

 “Innocent?” somebody called out, though Chanyeol could not place the voice. “This mansion is far from innocent! The killer of an entire family lives in there! A kidnapper, who has stolen many from their families! Even now, there are four people inside of those walls, held against their will, and has been for many years!”

 “Those are baseless rumors and lies!” Chanyeol shouted, fury running hot through his veins and firing him on. “Lord Byun lost his family in a fire, but he was not their murderer! He was a victim as well, who had to grow up without the love and support of those closest to him, he himself marked by the fire as well! And he has done nothing but help those who became lost in the woods, or injured! I was attacked by wolves, and if not for lord Byun and his servants, I would have been frozen dead, or wolf feed, by now!”

 “He sent the wolves on you! Lured you into the storm and enchanted you, so that you would fall into his trap! He has put a spell on you!”

 Chanyeol almost burst out laughing at how ridiculous it was - and how right lord Byun had been. The villagers honestly believed that the lord was a warlock, using magic to keep him imprisoned. Oh, how wrong they were…

 “That is all just superstition and distrust… Do you never get tired of seeing others as monsters? Do you never get tired of fearing the young man living in solitude in the middle of the forest, not interrupting your daily life, keeping to himself? Do you never get tired of refusing to see the truth and keep up the charade of painting him in an ugly light, when all he has ever done is tried to help?” Chanyeol called out, calmer now, an icy kind of rage lying itself over him instead.

 Considering the gasps that echoed over the courtyard, it might have been the wrong thing to say, but Chanyeol was so, so tired. So tired of it all. So tired of knowing that people tried to paint such an amazing and bright person in such a horrible way. So tired of all the lies, and justifications that were just pure horse manure.

 “Do you not feel ashamed over the witch hunt you put him through, just because of your own fear-”

 “Chanyeol!”

 A new voice cut through the air, and Chanyeol’s eyes widened before he turned to look up the stairs. Standing at the top of them, head proudly held high and cape billowing around him, was lord Byun.

 “You do not need to defend me. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last. Leave, and take this  _ army _ with you,” lord Byun said, spitting the word ‘army’ out as if it disgusted him.

 “Lord Byun, plea-”

 “No. Just  _ go _ , Chanyeol. Nothing good will come out of your tries at negotiation,” Lord Byun said, interrupting Chanyeol yet again, and there was something in his eyes that chilled Chanyeol harder than the early spring night.

 Slowly, Chanyeol nodded, his shoulders slumping as he gave in, gave up.

 Lord Byun was probably right. This was probably not the first time something like this happened to him, and how was Chanyeol supposed to change the minds of so many people on his own? No, he might even make it even worse than it was.

 It was probably better if he just left.

 “Thank you for everything, Lord Byun. You’ve been very benevolent, even after everything you’ve been through. I owe you my life. Goodbye.”

 Lord Byun gave a small nod, lips slightly pursed, and Chanyeol wondered if it was sadness he saw in those starry eyes. Not allowing himself to think about it, he turned back to the mass of people.

 “We will all leave now! I will not allow you to take this witch hunt further. You have done enough already.”

 The gathered looked around, mumbling and shrugging alongside themselves, before they began to pull back. Their purpose was more or less fulfilled, and even though Chanyeol caught some glares, there was nothing really they could do but follow the stream of people leaving.

 One last time, Chanyeol allowed himself to look back. The rest had gathered behind the lord, with frowns of worries - a stark contrast to lord Byun’s completely blank face. With a small wave, Chanyeol then turned and made his way after his neighbors, leaving his friends behind.

 

~*~

 

 After Chanyeol had returned home, his life once more settled into what it had been before. With the exception of more watchful eyes following him wherever he went, and more hesitancy about his professionalism, everything returned to normal.

 And Chanyeol despised it. He loved what he was doing, he considered it a true calling, but he had never realized how monotonous his life actually was. Preparing ingredients, making medicine, salves, antidotes, helping people with lighter ailments… Every now and then, he was called to assist the barber-surgeon, but all in all, it was an endless cycle of the same.

 But maybe it was something else that was missing? Something he had never missed, because he had not known it in a long time?

 Of course, Chanyeol had friends. He was friendly with each villager in his village, and most in the neighboring village. But it had been a long time since he had had someone to call a close friend…

 Not a single day went past where Chanyeol did not think about the mansion and all of its inhabitants. As far as he knew, none of the villagers had returned to ‘finish’ what some had set out to do, but it could be that it was kept from him. He hoped that was not the case, though; but that everyone was still alive and healthy.

 These hopes quickly shattered the day that Jongin stepped into Chanyeol’s little shop, panting as if he had ran the entire way to the village.

 “Jongin?” Chanyeol exclaimed, unable to believe his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

 “You need to come back, with me, now!” Jongin said, thankfully accepting the cup of water Chanyeol fetched him. “The lord, he’s… He’s not well. Ever since the night you left, he’s been acting strange, not like himself, and now… It’s like he’s having fever hallucinations.”

 Chanyeol’s heart skipped a beat, worry spreading like a venom inside of him, but he hesitated.

 “Lord Byun wanted me to go away…,” Chanyeol mumbled, looking away from Jongin.

 He wanted to come with Jongin, but he also wanted to respect lord Byun’s wishes. He was almost afraid to go back, just to be sent away again.

 “You do not understand,” Jongin stressed as he stepped closer, taking hold of Chanyeol’s forearm as if he wanted to shake him, eyes wide open. “He’s become violent again, wrecking rooms. He barely sleeps, barely eats… He is like a shadow haunting the mansion. There is something wrong with him, and we do not know what to do anymore… Please, Chanyeol, I beg you, help us!”

 Chanyeol worried his lower lip as he thought about it. He wanted to go back, see everyone again, and he wanted to help, but still… Lord Byun had been adamant about his decision.

 “He’s forbidden us from even  _ entering _ this village, telling us to leave you alone so you could go back to your old life,” Jongin continued in a low voice, his hand dropping as he looked away. “I might be thrown out for doing this, but… I had no other choice. I do not want to see the lord succumb deeper to whatever it is, and I do not want Kyungsoo to be in constant danger because of it, when you might be able to help…”

 Groaning, Chanyeol dragged a hand over his face, before fisting it in his hair. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh.

 There really was nothing else he could do.

 “I’ll come with you.”

 

 Jongin had taken one of the horses to the village, but ridden it so hard that it needed to rest, so instead they set off on foot. Chanyeol asked his neighbor to watch over his shop as he answered an emergency call, noticing but ignoring the look Jongin got. Jongin did not seem bothered, either, almost tugging Chanyeol away so that he would hurry up.

 “What happened after I left?” Chanyeol asked as they set down the path leading into the forest.

 “We all went inside after having made sure no one stayed around. Lord Byun locked himself into his room, and we left him alone,” Jongin answered, pulling his scarf down a little. It might be early spring, but it was still cold outside. The younger seemed quite warm from his crazed ride, though. “Early morning, there was some ruckus, but we stayed away, knowing he gets a bit sensitive whenever something like that happens… He still hates and refuses to accept that people view him like a monster, even though he tries to show an indifferent mask. The next day, Kyungsoo went to see him, but came rushing down saying he could not find the lord. In the end, it was Jongdae who found him, sitting in the charred remains of his childhood room. He seemed calm at the moment, but he refused to talk or even eat, so we left him alone yet again, thinking he needed more time.”

 Chanyeol listened intently, with the beats of his heart pounding in his ears like an annoying background noise. What if he had ignored the lord’s wish, and tried to talk sense into the villagers? What if he had forced them to see what kind of person lord Byun really was?

 But he knew how the human mind worked, and he knew they would probably not be swayed. The ‘but’s stayed strong anyway, even though he knew.

 “This continued for several days, and it was obvious that the lord was growing weaker, but he still refused to leave the room, or eat. At one point, he snapped and hurled an old, broken vase at Kyungsoo. It missed, I do not think he intended to actually hit him, but after that… I refused to let Kyungsoo go alone. That might have triggered something in the lord, though, about us not trusting him and seeing him as a monster as well… Several times, he rambled about wanting us to just leave as well, leave him alone like everyone else has, because he could not stand our fear…”

 Chanyeol’s heart squeezed painfully in his chest as he could almost visualize lord Byun saying these words, a manic smile on his lips and a strange fire burning in his eyes. He was still so injured by his past, even though his external injuries had already healed and formed scars…

 “After a while, he weakened enough that we were able to bring him back to his room, and feed him. Most of the time, he spends in bed, withering away, but sometimes, he gets this strange energy, and goes around destroying whatever he can find… He is like possessed,” Jongin said, sighing for the umptenth time. “He has never been like this before, not after any of the others left, but you… I think you left a mark on his heart, a mark that now aches.”

 Chanyeol’s heart had been aching as well, and he felt so bad that the lord had had to go through that. If only he had not left…

 “Don’t blame yourself,” Jongin suddenly said, and Chanyeol glanced over to see him staring at him. “I can see it in your eyes, but it is not your fault. You did what he wished you to do,  _ ordered _ you to do, but I know you did not want to leave. It was what you had to do. So don’t blame yourself.”

 Chanyeol gave a tight-lipped smile, unable to answer, and Jongin did not push it further.

 When they finally arrived by the mansion, it was eerily quiet. No birds were singing, there was no rustling of animals in the bushes, and the wind had seemingly quietened down as well. Chanyeol was not superstitious, but he could not help but shiver from trepidation.

 They walked straight up to the large front doors, stepping inside hastily and being met by Kyungsoo.

 “Jongin, where have-  _ Chanyeol _ ?” the shorter exclaimed in shock, eyes going almost perfectly round as he spotted Chanyeol behind Jongin. “What are you doing here?”

 “Jongin came to get me,” Chanyeol said, pulling the hood of his cape back. “Where is the lord?”

 Kyungsoo shot Jongin a glare, but sighed and motioned for the staircase.

 “In his room. He was having an episode last night, and I think his condition is worsening rapidly, since he has barely been able to swallow any of the food I took to him…,” Kyungsoo answered in a low voice, before looking up at Chanyeol, the lines of his frown showing all of the anxiety and worry he was currently feeling. “If you can do something,  _ anything _ , then please help him.”

 Chanyeol placed a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, giving a small smile as he nodded.

 “Of course. I will do whatever I can.”

 Then he left Kyungsoo and Jongin standing in the large foyer, rushing up the stairs and taking two steps at a time.

 Chanyeol came to a stop outside of the door leading into the lord’s chamber, nervousness suddenly enveloping him. He got a strange flashback to so many nights ago, when he had stood in the same place, hesitating. How would lord Byun react to him being here again? Would he be mad? Glad?

 But giving himself a shake, Chanyeol realized he did not have the time to think about any of those things, his only concern being to make sure that the lord was okay. He would take care of whatever would come  _ when _ it came, crossing the bridges as they came.

 Inhaling, Chanyeol pulled the handle down, and pushed the door open.

 He had only been in the lord’s room once before, during the night with only a single candle for light, but Chanyeol was sure it had not looked like  _ this _ back then. Furniture had been smashed to pieces, strewn around, tables overturned, soot spread out from the fireplace. Someone had obviously tried to clean the mess up, but either not succeeded, or the lord had destroyed more afterwards.

 Breathe so shallow Chanyeol was almost feeling dizzy, he looked around, until his eyes zeroed in on the bed. Lord Byun was lying on top of it, large blankets spread out over him, but he was still looking so pale. Carefully stepping closer, Chanyeol could see that the lord’s lips were a bit bluish around the edges, and it worried him.

 Reaching out, Chanyeol willed his hand to stop trembling as he felt lord Byun’s forehead, but it was futile. Especially after he noticed how warm and clammy the skin was.

 Without Chanyeol noticing, eyes fluttered open, dazedly trying to focus on Chanyeol’s face.

 “How fitting that even your ghost has come to haunt me…”

 The low, raspy and so utterly  _ weak _ voice shook Chanyeol so much that he nearly leapt out of his skin, looking down to see a tired smile pulling at the lord’s lips, cracking the dry skin.

 “My family has already tortured me, so I guess it is time for everyone else as well…,” lord Byun exhaled, eyes closing again. “Come now, tell me how I have wronged you… That is all I do, wrong and offend and injure… No matter how much I try to hold on, keep safe, I never succeed…”

 Chanyeol’s heart was breaking over the confession, and he had to blink tears away and swallow hard before he could speak up.

 “I am not here to haunt you, my lord. I am here to try to make you well again, I am no ghost.”

 Eyes slowly opened again, and this time, there was more depth, more consciousness, to them.

 “You… You came back… I told you to go, to stay away…”

 “Jongin came to find me,” Chanyeol answered the unasked question, hoping he was not throwing the younger into the fire. “He is worried about you, they all are, and I am here to help.”

 A sneer pulled lord Byun’s lips back, uncovering his teeth, and Chanyeol winced as he saw the chapped lips crack open even more.

 “I do not need your help!” the lord hissed, trying to push himself out of his bed. “Go away, leave me alone, and never return!”

 Chanyeol rushed around the bed in time to catch lord Byun as he collapsed, keeping him off of the floor.

 “You are sick, very sick, and I will help you get better,” Chanyeol bit out, patience running thin, as he lifted the lord to place him back in the bed. He was light, barely weighing more than a feather, and it was enough for Chanyeol to soften in worry yet again. “When your health has returned, you can banish me or whatever you want, but I will stay and make sure you will be okay.”

 A heavy curtain dropped over lord Byun’s eyes, and he suddenly clasped the front of Chanyeol’s cape with an inhuman strength.

 “Do not go,” he whispered brokenly, desperation ringing clear in his voice. “Do not leave me alone!”

 “I’m going nowhere, my lord,” Chanyeol hushed him, forcing the hold off of him and wrapping the blankets around the lord again. “I will gather what I need to help you, and then I will be back. I promise, I will stay for as long as you want me to.”

 “Never leave me…,” lord Byun exhaled, as his eyes slipped close and he sank down into a deep slumber.

 After having made sure that the lord was breathing almost comfortably on his own, and that leaving him for a little while would be no problem, Chanyeol exited the room and tiredly headed down the stairs. Jongin and Kyungsoo were sitting at the bottom, conversing silently about something, falling quiet as Chanyeol approached them and sat down with a heavy sigh.

 “What do you think?” Jongin asked, being the first to break the silence. “Do you think you can help?”

 Chanyeol rubbed a hand across his forehead, trying to gather all of his thoughts.

 “I think so… He is having a fever, and he is severely malnourished and dehydrated, but I can help with that. As for the rest… There are some things you need to heal yourself, that outsiders cannot help with. We can offer support, but he needs to do the bulk of it himself. And I don’t know if he can.”

 “He is strong enough,” Kyungsoo mumbled with conviction, eyes trained on the floor in front of them.

 “Yes, he is. But the question is if he can  _ accept _ it, otherwise it does not matter how strong he is,” Chanyeol said softly, before standing up. “We should get to work, I fear he is getting weaker and weaker with every moment.”

 With a nod, Kyungsoo stood up as well, Jongin following suit. After explaining what he needed, Chanyeol sent them away, as he himself went back to the lord’s room.

 

 It was a gamble, every time lord Byun woke up. He could either be lucid enough to recognize them, or so out of his mind that he thought them to be spirits there to torture him. A handful of times, he turned livid enough to become violent, and it would always take both Chanyeol and Jongin to restrain him until he tired himself out enough to fall back into a fitful sleep.

 But as the days went past, there was a noticeable change in the young lord. After many explanations, he seemed to accept Chanyeol’s return, allowing himself to be nursed back to health.

 It took another two weeks until Chanyeol felt hope.

 It was during a stormy night, the rain beating down at the window panes so hard Chanyeol almost feared they would shatter, lightning splitting the sky every now and then. There was supposed to be a full moon, but it was deeply hidden behind heavy clouds.

 Lord Byun was sitting propped up against his headboard as Chanyeol fed him some tea, strengthened by different herbs to help the lord regain his health.

 “You came back,” the lord said, so quietly that Chanyeol almost did not hear it.

 “Hm, yes,” Chanyeol said, putting the cup down on the bedside table that had been moved into the room, the old ones having been smashed to pieces now burning in the hearth. “I was worried about you.”

 “You did not have to come back,” the lord continued, eyes boring into Chanyeol, as if they could see into his soul.

 But Chanyeol had nothing to hide, so he gave the young lord a smile.

 “I know, but I still felt responsible. I knew I might be able to save you, so I had to give it a chance.”

 Lord Byun swallowed and looked away, his scarred side hidden from Chanyeol’s view.

 “You should have stayed away, and let me die. I bring nothing but pain and death…”

 “You saved my life,” Chanyeol protested, boldly grabbing the lord’s hand and holding it firmly, warming it up. “You did not have to allow me to stay, but you did, and you saved my life. I’m returning the favor.”

 “Is that why you are here? Did you fear your soul would never be able to rest if I perished?” lord Byun asked bitterly, still refusing to look at Chanyeol.

 “No. I am here as a worried friend, wanting to help another friend who had helped me in the past,” Chanyeol said, giving the lord’s hand a gentle squeeze. “This is not about obligations, it is about loyalty.”

 At that, lord Byun glanced over at Chanyeol in shock, before dropping his eyes to their connected hands. Suddenly, Chanyeol worried he had stepped over a line, but the lord did not say anything, nor retract his hand. They stayed like that, silently holding hands, as the storm raged outside, and Chanyeol thought he might have been able to get through to lord Byun.

 After that night, the lord seemed more open to Chanyeol’s return and treatment, willingly drinking whatever concoction he was handed without scowling. And after a few more days, he even began to give small smiles at Chanyeol’s tries at jokes.

 

 Lord Byun’s recovery was going swiftly, and Chanyeol was starting to fear the moment when he would be back to full health. By now, the lord did not really need Chanyeol to stay, as he was much stronger, and Kyungsoo could take care of him well enough on his own anyway. But Chanyeol did not mention this, and neither did anyone else.

 They had began to keep small talks during the times Chanyeol spent in lord Byun’s chamber when the other was awake. They kept it safe and light, but Chanyeol felt happiness over it nonetheless.

 “Do you think I am strong enough to visit the kitchen for supper?” lord Byun asked one day, and there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

 Chanyeol could not help but smile at the innocent question - because no matter how lord Byun painted himself as a lonely martyr who needed no one, he was almost desperate for human contact. In another life, he would probably be the person to throw large balls, laughing in the middle of a flock of friends, enjoying bringing smiles to others’ faces, but in this life, he made due with whatever he could get. And after the self-imposed isolation, it was obvious that he needed to get out of his room.

 So when the time came, Chanyeol slowly helped the lord out of his room and down to the kitchen. Only Kyungsoo and Jongin were there, chatting and laughing, as they stepped inside, both turning in surprise.

 “What are we having for dinner?” lord Byun asked as Chanyeol helped him into a chair, as if he had not just done something remarkable. But the small, soft smile on his lips was telling enough.

 Kyungsoo dropped the ladle as he rushed over to the lord, nearly knocking him out of the chair as he attacked him. Soon, the kitchen echoed with sobs, lord Byun gently rubbing Kyungsoo’s back to try to comfort him.

 “I was so scared you would die… So scared,” Kyungsoo hiccuped against lord Byun’s shoulder, grip tight. “Never scare me like that again, Baekhyun!”

 And the look on the lord’s face was that of utter disbelief, lips opening and closing, before he managed to get an apology out.

 Having gotten all of his fears and sorrows out, Kyungsoo dried his tears and went back to the cooking, giving Chanyeol a quick, grateful hug in the process. Jongin looked slightly miffed over the hug, but there was nothing but adoration in his eyes as he looked at the shorter, and Chanyeol knew there was no real fire behind the frown.

 Shortly after, Minseok and Jongdae joined them as well, clearly surprised but happy to see the young lord by the table again. There was a small celebration, and the smile never seemed to leave lord Byun’s face, even as he grew exhausted.

 

 Sooner than expected, lord Byun got back to almost full health, and Chanyeol could not help but feel a bit disappointed by this, which led to guilt. He was staying on borrowed time, and had no idea what would happen. He and the lord had grown even closer during their time together, and Chanyeol truly saw the lord as a close friend. He refused to acknowledge the deeper feelings he knew hid inside, because they would surely crush him if he was sent home again.

 And all too soon, lord Byun brought the state of his health up to Chanyeol.

 “I am much better, almost back to full health now,” the lord stated, as there was no question about it. “You promised you would stay until you had healed me.”

 “I will stay for as long as you want me to, that was what I promised,” Chanyeol answered, internally wincing over his words. Why did he have to sound so needy?

 Lord Byun looked up at him with something unreadable in his eyes, before he looked away again.

 “I…,” he began, before stopping himself. “You may stay for however long you would like. You have started to become part of this family, and they will all surely miss you if you go away. I do not want to inflict that pain upon anybody.”

 Chanyeol could barely breath as his heart grew in joy, threatening to explode in his chest. Was this really happening? Was he hearing right? Was he understanding this right?

 But most of all - was the lord implying what Chanyeol thought he was?

 If Chanyeol was going by the way lord Byun was trying to hide his suddenly pink cheeks, then yes, he was.

 “I would love to stay,” Chanyeol answered, smiling so widely his cheeks began to ache.

 

 Having decided that the village no longer felt like home, Chanyeol moved to the mansion. He still practiced medicine, selling to whoever needed it. It took a few years before his old neighbors and friends began to trust him again, and they did not dare to come close to the mansion, but Chanyeol was fine with this. Two days every week, he spent at his old store, and that was enough for him. He was still sent for by the barber-surgeon every now and then to help, and he enjoyed each and every moment.

 Kyungsoo, Jongin, Minseok and Jongdae welcomed him into their little family with open arms, and slowly but surely, Chanyeol managed to wriggle his way into lord Byun’s embrace as well. It took time and dedication, but if anything, Chanyeol was a very stubborn man. He did not mind telling the lord how beautiful he was every day, as long as he was allowed to see the sparkling of a thousand stars in those wonderful eyes every time.

 And so the beauty and his beast got their happy ending, even with all of the things that had stood between them. Because love can conquer everything, and grow in even the most unexpected places.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this! It's literally taken me just a few days shy of four months to write it, and it has been a struggle... But now it is finally finished! I haven't done a deep edit, and some things might seem a bit rushed or ill-fitting, but yeah... I've gone through several different periods whilst writing this, so I'm sorry, ahaha? *cries over this mess*


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